Robert Robin openface quarter repeating watch with detent lever escapement

Technical characteristics

Type

Repeating watch

Diameter

62 mm

Escapement

Robin detent lever escapement

Casemaker Mark

GO

Place recorded

France

Movement Number

41

Maker / attribution

Robin Aîné à Paris

Repeating Mechanism

Quarter repeating onto two gongs

Design

Visible features

• White enamel dial with black Roman numerals and an outer railway track with Arabic five-minute numerals • Breguet-style open-tipped hands and a subsidiary seconds subdial at the 6 o'clock position • Polished silver circular pendant with a round top bow • Signature 'ROBIN' printed beneath the 12 o'clock numeral

Dial and Visible Presentation

The timepiece presents an open-face configuration with a white enamel dial featuring black Roman hour markers, outer Arabic five-minute numerals along an outer railway track, and a subsidiary seconds display positioned at 6 o'clock. The dial is fitted with open-tipped Breguet-style hands and carries the printed signature 'ROBIN' situated beneath the 12 o'clock marker. The visible case shows a polished circular silver pendant topped with a round bow. While the frontal image shows the dial and bezel, the auction source states the full housing is a 62 mm circular silver construction. Reported features such as the case back and cuvette are not visible in the provided photograph.

Movement Construction and Escapement

The movement is not visible in the photograph; however, the auction catalogue describes it as a gilt-finished full-plate caliber signed 'Robin Ainé à Paris' and numbered 41. It is documented as containing Robin's detent lever escapement, accompanied by a plain three-arm balance, a blued steel flat balance spring, and a regulation arm on the edge with an engraved scale on the backplate. Energy is supplied by a going barrel passing through the back plate and secured by a floral and foliage engraved gilt brass bridge. The quarter repeating mechanism strikes via hammers onto two gongs, and the gilt brass balance cock is decorated with scroll and foliage engraving.

Casing, Hallmarks, and Production Context

The source dates the movement to circa 1785/1786 and states that it was encased circa 1840. The silver case is described as having large engine-turned decoration, enclosing an inner silver cuvette, and is stamped with a Paris control mark in use since 1838 alongside the casemaker's initials 'GO'. The catalogue essay proposes that the watch was most likely made by Robert Robin during his lifetime and subsequently finished and sold by his son after 1838, linking the signature 'Robin Ainé à Paris' and the post-1838 French hallmarking context.

Identification

Serial number

41

Source note

Facts transcribed from the linked source listing or collection record. Attribution and specifications are source-reported and have not been independently authenticated.

Catalogue references

No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.